TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas voters will encounter masked election workers seated behind plastic panels when they head to the polls this fall and use disposable stylus pens to cast their ballots.
Secretary of State Scott Schwab said in a news release Thursday that the state is receiving $4.6 million in federal aid to prepare for the election, with $2.6 million going to county election officials. The state also plans to spend $1 million on personal protective equipment, including hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray, face masks and disposable gloves. Each polling site also will receive two Plexiglas shields to protect election workers and voters, as well as disposable stylus pens for voters.
Schwab said voters with underlying health conditions or other concerns should request a mail-in ballot.
“We must strike a balance in maintaining the security of elections while protecting the health and welfare of Kansas voters and election workers,” Schwab said. “In 2020, Kansas voters have multiple options in how they can cast their ballot including voting in-person on election day, advance in-person voting and advance mail ballots.”
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
The virus and the steps taken to slow its spread have devastated the economy. There were 16,416 more Kansas workers who filed initial unemployment claims last week, up dramatically from 2,054 during the same week a year ago but down from the 27,663 new claims from two weeks ago, according to data from the Kansas Department of Labor.
The University of Kansas announced Wednesday that it plans to hold its tuition rates flat next school year to help ease students’ financial struggles caused by the pandemic.
“From our perspective, it is not tenable to ask students to pay more for a KU education when so many of them are managing financial challenges,” Chancellor Douglas Girod and two other university leaders said in a campus message.
VIRUS NUMBERS
The number of confirmed and probable cases in Kansas climbed by 410 on Thursday, to 6,144, though the actual number of cases is thought to be higher because of limited testing and because people can be infected without feeling ill.
Kansas’ COVID-19 death toll rose by three, to 147, according to the state’s count.
Much of the rise comes efforts to test meatpacking workers and all of the inmates at the state’s largest prison, which is in Lansing. With 87% of the testing completed, 673 of the roughly 1,700 inmates tested positive, with 581 of them showing no symptoms. Three have died. Eighty-eight workers also are infected, and an effort to test all staff is expected to begin this week, said Rebecca Witte, the corrections department spokeswoman.
The Shawnee County Health Department said in a news release Thursday afternoon that some COVID-19 cases had been traced to the food court and restrooms at the Kansas Turnpike service area east of Topeka. The release didn’t say how many cases were linked to the service area and said the facility will be closed while it’s being sanitized. The department said those who visited the center after April 23 should contact their doctors if they develop symptoms.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.
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Check out more of the AP’s coronavirus coverage at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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